Kids at Cleveland rec centers to get extra dose of fruit, veggies in smoothies

Plain Dealer fileSmoothies kids in a program at Cleveland recreation centers will get will contain fruit, vegetables, yogurt and 100 percent fruit juice and have no added sugars or sweeteners. Versions will include a strawberry-banana smoothie and blended veggies such as carrots or spinach.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Just telling kids they must eat more vegetables almost never works.

Letting them experience how good greens can taste when they're in a fruit-and-yogurt smoothie? That might do it.

Cleveland kids in the free-lunch program at city recreation centers this summer can judge for themselves. A smoothie pilot project is the latest foray in the Healthy Cleveland initiative to encourage better nutrition in a city where childhood obesity is a pervasive problem.

The project kicks off Monday with a noon event at the Lonnie Burten Recreation Center on East 46th Street.

After reading about the Healthy Cleveland effort -- which addresses such issues as promoting healthy eating, physical activity and community gardens -- representatives of Vitamix contacted Councilman Joe Cimperman about donating some of the company's high-performance blenders for smoothie-making.

Vitamix Corp., a 91-year-old company headquartered in Olmsted Township, has done similar pilot projects in such suburbs as Chagrin Falls and Hudson, providing fruit and vegetable smoothies during school lunches to encourage better eating habits.

The smoothies will contain fruit, vegetables, yogurt and 100 percent fruit juice and have no added sugars or sweeteners. Versions will include a strawberry-banana smoothie and blended veggies such as carrots or spinach. The sweetness of fruit -- especially bananas and pineapple -- effectively masks the more bitter taste of even a cupful of greens, such as kale.

The Cleveland Food Bank and Dave's Supermarkets are donating much of the produce used in the smoothies. Volunteers were trained last week to help make the drinks, which will serve about 80 kids at each of 10 rec centers, as well as at Merrick House.

The project isn't just about serving up healthy shakes, says Cimperman, who was appointed by Mayor Frank Jackson to served as the leader of the Healthy Cleveland effort. "Kids see how they're made, and thanks to volunteers from Tri-C [Cuyahoga Community College], they also get lessons in good nutrition as they're drinking them," he said.

Rosa Heryak, a City Hall intern who will start college in August, has been the project manager for the smoothie endeavor.

"Last week, we did volunteer training and the kids were so excited waiting for the smoothies," said Heryak, who lives in Cleveland's Old Brooklyn neighborhood. "It was a big deal to them, and it sets a good example -- because education is a big part of this.

"Seeing the kids' reactions showed me how this project has been so worth it."

Jodi Berg, the CEO of Vitamix and great-granddaughter of its founders, said reaching out was a natural for the company, with its history of encouraging whole-food nutrition for health. The company donated two blenders to each Cleveland site.

"We have to get away from thinking that we have to force ourselves, or our kids, to eat vegetables," Berg said. "We can incorporate them in a way that tastes delicious, and when you start to have greens on a regular basis, you begin to crave them."

The next step? Cimperman says it's to figure out how to get the smoothies into Cleveland's schools.

"If the pilot works, that's what we'll try to do," he said. "We want to address childhood obesity. But we also want to make this fun and give kids a chance to try something they haven't had before."

Clues to Cancer: Patients, doctors on road to discovery

For 10 months, Plain Dealer reporter Angela Townsend and photographer Lynn Ischay followed 9 patients through their journey as study participants in Phase 1 trials at University Hospitals. We tell their stories here.

Follow Us

cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.